Submission: fiction, Reflections of Fire
LARP system: Accelerant - Mirror Mirror
Your Location: MA
Character name: Loralon
Years LARPing: 21
A recollection from everyone's favorite totally-not-evil warmage! (Or whatever he is-- war priest, mayhaps?
It is in the darkness that this realm is least familiar. I look to the night sky, and I do not see the familiar constellations of the Gods overhead. There is no great Balance spinning in its endless dance; with my Queen and her Court opposite the Adversary and his Court, with only the Book and his red kind between them. No. This broken realm, this Shattered Land - it is filled with fractured beings from innumerable realities. This is the bitter truth that those with wisdom must eventually face: We who come here are all in some way broken. Who we are, what we are, is partially lost. We see only broken pieces, like reflections in some shattered mirror. And like a chance reflection - we seldom know when we shall see a piece of it, we shall not see it fully, and it shall be lost when it passes.
This evening, I sit beside the fire. Others of this town gather round, taking their dinner or discussing their plans. Some are wary of threats from the darkness, and others have gone off to amuse themselves within it. But the fire warms me, its hiss and crackle speak as its sparks drift upwards into the night sky. This time, it is the smell of burning wood amongst the flickering flames that catches my attention. The fine, familiar scent of ash and burning wood - and in that scent I find myself drifting far, far away...
I am high above the burning city, with the wind whipping through my robes as Karritrex bears me across the sky. Still, I smell ash and burning wood - and flesh - in the smoke that rises like a pillar. We circle, and descend towards the outer gate. I am confident that the battle is over by now. Soon, the more important work will begin. Those conquered must be taught. Our long age of uncertainty and doubt is now over.
She lands heavily outside the city. I see that my adjutants and staff are already gathered. So I unhitch the straps binding me to my dragonsaddle. Karritrex lies down and folds her wings, allowing me to dismount, and then her servants come forward to remove her saddle while I march towards the gates. My adjutants bow as I pass, falling into step beside and behind me. Merjek licks his saurian lips before beginning his report.
"Massster, the fighting hasss ended. We have gathered the prisssonersss in the market sssquare, and are ssseparating them. The other cccitizensss are being brought there assswell."
"Good. Have you taken the governor and city councilmen alive?"
"Yeesss."
"Good. I want them on display when the populace is told that they knew what would happen if they did not surrender the city. Tell the guards to let the crowd to do anything except release them. Make sure their chains are solidly anchored this time. As for the prisoners...execute all who resisted...and release the rest. Except any elves, of course - interrogate then execute, as usual."
Merjek smiles a very toothy smile "Yeeeessss masssster."
"I assume we're using the Governor's Palace?"
"Yeeesss"
I turn to the other adjutants, pointing "You and you. Run ahead to the square. Ensure that all the priests among the prisoners or the crowd are brought to my command post. I'll attend to them before dinner. You, run ahead to the palace and select a large room for the priests. And order up my dinner. And you? Find the command staff for the first division, and put them in the dining room. I'll deal with them after dinner."
Several of my adjutants rush off, while the rest fall in behind me. I march up what remains of the street, past broken store fronts and burned stalls. Bodies and blood line the main thoroughfare. My soldiers strip the dead of useable equipment before piling them aside. We do not waste either type of war material. Still, this city is not in the condition I wished it to be. It will take time to rebuild the trade here. Which provokes an idea...
"Merjek - send a runner. I want the scouts doubled and their range increased on both roads. Ensure any merchants encountered are brought here without unnecessary injury and with their wares intact. I don't want word of this spreading before we can do something useful with it."
One hiss and a few soft words later, another runner retreats down the main street. I continue slowly towards the Governor's Palace. I take my time, examining the damage to smithies, hostlers, and other useful craft halls. From the direction of the main market square, the sound of mournful wailing punctuated by the occasional scream rises with the smoke from the still smouldering buildings.
As I reach the palace steps, soldiers of my personal guard open the doors before me. Entering the palatial entryway, my serving staff bows while others of my guard look on. "I will stay the night. See to it." I announce absently as I move towards the adjutants I sent after the priests. "Are they all here?" They bow, indicating the ballroom doors that my guards are even now opening. With a curt gesture, I leave all but Merjek behind.
The ballroom is goodly sized, with a marble floor and a well polished silver chandelier. My attention is on a group of men in rust colored robes with bizarre symbols on them. Guards behind them have forced them to their knees. Those most ornately clad are in the front - they are the leaders. Several have obvious cuts or bruises, but one clutches a badly mangled arm to his chest, while a second mumbles empty prayers over it. This is fortunate, and saves me the trouble of having to make wounds. My armored boots strike the marble floor like authoritative hammers, bringing to silence all but the one tending to his companion. He continues his empty prayers, which shows promise. I stop, taking the time to view each of their faces. Their faces will decide their fate.
"Priests - there is one thing you should know. Your 'New Gods'...do not exist"
I look into their eyes. Indignation. Offense. Shock. Denial. And...no reaction.
"But even worse...is that some of you already know that"
Now some of those who were angry before look sick. And all of the leaders look guilty. Charlatans. They will not survive. I point out those whose faces betrayed them, and guards separate them out. "You are all charlatans", I tell them "and your lies are an offense to the Old Gods, who have returned. Merjek, feed them to Karritrex." Merjek hisses his assent as he and several guards herd the pretenders out of the room. Karritrex usually appreciates a snack after a long flight.
Those priests who remain look a lot more scared. "Do not fear" I tell them "for fear leads to weakness and hesitation. I told you that the Old Gods have returned. My Queen has come to me, to us, that we may raise ourselves up and rebuild the society that was lost with the Fall. You - all of you - were spared because you have faith. It is not wrong to have faith - to believe in serving something greater than yourself. To wish to be part of something. To find your place in the order of creation. To wish to better yourself, and to help your kin achieve greatness." I point at the guard behind the badly wounded priest. The priest is picked up and brought to my feet, and his friend pushes to join him. "Witness - the Old Gods have returned, and my Queen calls all of you to her service..." and with a brief prayer to Her, I do what no charlatan could ever hope to achieve. With Her power within me, I heal his arm completely. Eyes widen. Faces bow to the floor. Men and women weep, clasp at my robes as I move amongst them. "Join us, join the priests of the Dark Queen, and bring the miracle of True Healing back into the world. Praise Her!"
Even the guards are chanting Her praise as I leave the room. Outside, a pair of underpriests bow to me and enter the room to begin the instruction for our new brethren. I start towards the dining room, signalling a servant in passing to begin serving the meal. "Merjek, I want the remaining forces of the first division assigned to occupation duty. I doubt there's much of the city guard left. Coordinate this with whoever is their commander by the time we leave."
The dining room is spacious, despite being the only one sitting. The command staff from the first division sent against this city stand motionless against the walls at the far end of the room. Despite the attack, it would appear that the house larder survived quite well. Of course my cook is excellent, which doesn't hurt. Her choice of wines to pair with this meal is also commendable. I will have to take any other bottles with me when the army moves on, but in the meantime I hand my glass to a servant in the corner while the other clears my dishes and leaves. I rise and step around the head of the table. Time for business.
"Captain Jerlis. Bring your command staff over here." He comes forward slowly, with his staff lagging behind, and then he kneels before me. I begin to smell it. The stink of fear. It is there, in his eyes. This fear is worse than his failure. And his failure was already costly.
"I gave you an entire division, Captain. I told you I wanted a lucrative trading city, a city sitting on a major trade way, captured intact. You failed."
"But, Lord, I..."
"Silence. You have wasted my forces with your defeat. You have wasted my time, diverting me from my next target. You have wasted my forces again, doing what you could not do. And I no longer have a lucrative trading city, do I Captain?" I knee him in the face then, my greaves bashing his jaw bloody. I will have to make sure later that my robes were not torn by the armor beneath them. "No. I don't. I have a city that has dead tradesmen, no city guard, sacked and burned shops, a city that will probably be avoided by merchants for years. All because you failed to convince them to surrender, and then failed to take the city when they resisted. And because of your failures, they were emboldened enough to resist yet again. All I have gained today is more bodies for the undead legion, and I get that after any battle. But do you know what is worst of all Captain?"
"Lord, I did not..."
"I will tell you, Captain. Your fear is worst of all. Your weakness. I am wise enough to know that no one always wins. I know that you could have met one stronger than you. One who could have been a sign for you to learn, to improve yourself. But the fear in you...the weakness of cowardice, of hesitation...disgusts me. And I have no use for men who cannot rise above such weakness." Taking my mace from the dinner table, I swing down and bash his skull in. He crumples sideways at my feet, blood and brains spilling across the stone floor. I reach out my hand to the servant, who places my glass in my hand and retires. I take another sip; it really is an excellent wine. I look towards the command staff.
"Your tasks are to figure out why he lost. Learn where the enemy beat him. Learn where he went wrong. Learn what could've been done differently. Study the defense of this city. See if you can improve upon it. You have until I move on to come up with a plan. Whoever has the best plan will be promoted to Captain and assigned to the first division. The rest of you will stay as their staff. Now go."
I leave the dining hall as my servants begin to clean up, and move to the balcony. After dark, I can still see some parts of the city smouldering. In others, bonfires for celebrating soldiers mix with street lamps. Before the Governor's Palace, the lamps are lit and my guard patrols. My Queen wheels above me in the darkness of the stars. The air smells of smoke - the fine, familiar scent of ash and burning wood...
I blink, and nearly fall off my log beside the fire. For a few moments, I was home. I know it in my soul. The places, the people, what I did there - I know it was important but I cannot say how or why. I must try to remember. I look up into the darkness...
It is in the darkness that this realm is least familiar. I look to the night sky, and I do not see the familiar constellations of the Gods overhead. There is no great Balance spinning in its endless dance; with my Queen and her Court opposite the Adversary and his Court, with only the Book and his red kind between them. No. This broken realm, this Shattered Land - it is filled with fractured beings from innumerable realities. This is the bitter truth that those with wisdom must eventually face: We who come here are all in some way broken. Who we are, what we are, is partially lost. We see only broken pieces, like reflections in some shattered mirror. And like a chance reflection - we seldom know when we shall see a piece of it, we shall not see it fully, and it shall be lost when it passes.
This evening, I sit beside the fire. Others of this town gather round, taking their dinner or discussing their plans. Some are wary of threats from the darkness, and others have gone off to amuse themselves within it. But the fire warms me, its hiss and crackle speak as its sparks drift upwards into the night sky. This time, it is the smell of burning wood amongst the flickering flames that catches my attention. The fine, familiar scent of ash and burning wood - and in that scent I find myself drifting far, far away...
I am high above the burning city, with the wind whipping through my robes as Karritrex bears me across the sky. Still, I smell ash and burning wood - and flesh - in the smoke that rises like a pillar. We circle, and descend towards the outer gate. I am confident that the battle is over by now. Soon, the more important work will begin. Those conquered must be taught. Our long age of uncertainty and doubt is now over.
She lands heavily outside the city. I see that my adjutants and staff are already gathered. So I unhitch the straps binding me to my dragonsaddle. Karritrex lies down and folds her wings, allowing me to dismount, and then her servants come forward to remove her saddle while I march towards the gates. My adjutants bow as I pass, falling into step beside and behind me. Merjek licks his saurian lips before beginning his report.
"Massster, the fighting hasss ended. We have gathered the prisssonersss in the market sssquare, and are ssseparating them. The other cccitizensss are being brought there assswell."
"Good. Have you taken the governor and city councilmen alive?"
"Yeesss."
"Good. I want them on display when the populace is told that they knew what would happen if they did not surrender the city. Tell the guards to let the crowd to do anything except release them. Make sure their chains are solidly anchored this time. As for the prisoners...execute all who resisted...and release the rest. Except any elves, of course - interrogate then execute, as usual."
Merjek smiles a very toothy smile "Yeeeessss masssster."
"I assume we're using the Governor's Palace?"
"Yeeesss"
I turn to the other adjutants, pointing "You and you. Run ahead to the square. Ensure that all the priests among the prisoners or the crowd are brought to my command post. I'll attend to them before dinner. You, run ahead to the palace and select a large room for the priests. And order up my dinner. And you? Find the command staff for the first division, and put them in the dining room. I'll deal with them after dinner."
Several of my adjutants rush off, while the rest fall in behind me. I march up what remains of the street, past broken store fronts and burned stalls. Bodies and blood line the main thoroughfare. My soldiers strip the dead of useable equipment before piling them aside. We do not waste either type of war material. Still, this city is not in the condition I wished it to be. It will take time to rebuild the trade here. Which provokes an idea...
"Merjek - send a runner. I want the scouts doubled and their range increased on both roads. Ensure any merchants encountered are brought here without unnecessary injury and with their wares intact. I don't want word of this spreading before we can do something useful with it."
One hiss and a few soft words later, another runner retreats down the main street. I continue slowly towards the Governor's Palace. I take my time, examining the damage to smithies, hostlers, and other useful craft halls. From the direction of the main market square, the sound of mournful wailing punctuated by the occasional scream rises with the smoke from the still smouldering buildings.
As I reach the palace steps, soldiers of my personal guard open the doors before me. Entering the palatial entryway, my serving staff bows while others of my guard look on. "I will stay the night. See to it." I announce absently as I move towards the adjutants I sent after the priests. "Are they all here?" They bow, indicating the ballroom doors that my guards are even now opening. With a curt gesture, I leave all but Merjek behind.
The ballroom is goodly sized, with a marble floor and a well polished silver chandelier. My attention is on a group of men in rust colored robes with bizarre symbols on them. Guards behind them have forced them to their knees. Those most ornately clad are in the front - they are the leaders. Several have obvious cuts or bruises, but one clutches a badly mangled arm to his chest, while a second mumbles empty prayers over it. This is fortunate, and saves me the trouble of having to make wounds. My armored boots strike the marble floor like authoritative hammers, bringing to silence all but the one tending to his companion. He continues his empty prayers, which shows promise. I stop, taking the time to view each of their faces. Their faces will decide their fate.
"Priests - there is one thing you should know. Your 'New Gods'...do not exist"
I look into their eyes. Indignation. Offense. Shock. Denial. And...no reaction.
"But even worse...is that some of you already know that"
Now some of those who were angry before look sick. And all of the leaders look guilty. Charlatans. They will not survive. I point out those whose faces betrayed them, and guards separate them out. "You are all charlatans", I tell them "and your lies are an offense to the Old Gods, who have returned. Merjek, feed them to Karritrex." Merjek hisses his assent as he and several guards herd the pretenders out of the room. Karritrex usually appreciates a snack after a long flight.
Those priests who remain look a lot more scared. "Do not fear" I tell them "for fear leads to weakness and hesitation. I told you that the Old Gods have returned. My Queen has come to me, to us, that we may raise ourselves up and rebuild the society that was lost with the Fall. You - all of you - were spared because you have faith. It is not wrong to have faith - to believe in serving something greater than yourself. To wish to be part of something. To find your place in the order of creation. To wish to better yourself, and to help your kin achieve greatness." I point at the guard behind the badly wounded priest. The priest is picked up and brought to my feet, and his friend pushes to join him. "Witness - the Old Gods have returned, and my Queen calls all of you to her service..." and with a brief prayer to Her, I do what no charlatan could ever hope to achieve. With Her power within me, I heal his arm completely. Eyes widen. Faces bow to the floor. Men and women weep, clasp at my robes as I move amongst them. "Join us, join the priests of the Dark Queen, and bring the miracle of True Healing back into the world. Praise Her!"
Even the guards are chanting Her praise as I leave the room. Outside, a pair of underpriests bow to me and enter the room to begin the instruction for our new brethren. I start towards the dining room, signalling a servant in passing to begin serving the meal. "Merjek, I want the remaining forces of the first division assigned to occupation duty. I doubt there's much of the city guard left. Coordinate this with whoever is their commander by the time we leave."
The dining room is spacious, despite being the only one sitting. The command staff from the first division sent against this city stand motionless against the walls at the far end of the room. Despite the attack, it would appear that the house larder survived quite well. Of course my cook is excellent, which doesn't hurt. Her choice of wines to pair with this meal is also commendable. I will have to take any other bottles with me when the army moves on, but in the meantime I hand my glass to a servant in the corner while the other clears my dishes and leaves. I rise and step around the head of the table. Time for business.
"Captain Jerlis. Bring your command staff over here." He comes forward slowly, with his staff lagging behind, and then he kneels before me. I begin to smell it. The stink of fear. It is there, in his eyes. This fear is worse than his failure. And his failure was already costly.
"I gave you an entire division, Captain. I told you I wanted a lucrative trading city, a city sitting on a major trade way, captured intact. You failed."
"But, Lord, I..."
"Silence. You have wasted my forces with your defeat. You have wasted my time, diverting me from my next target. You have wasted my forces again, doing what you could not do. And I no longer have a lucrative trading city, do I Captain?" I knee him in the face then, my greaves bashing his jaw bloody. I will have to make sure later that my robes were not torn by the armor beneath them. "No. I don't. I have a city that has dead tradesmen, no city guard, sacked and burned shops, a city that will probably be avoided by merchants for years. All because you failed to convince them to surrender, and then failed to take the city when they resisted. And because of your failures, they were emboldened enough to resist yet again. All I have gained today is more bodies for the undead legion, and I get that after any battle. But do you know what is worst of all Captain?"
"Lord, I did not..."
"I will tell you, Captain. Your fear is worst of all. Your weakness. I am wise enough to know that no one always wins. I know that you could have met one stronger than you. One who could have been a sign for you to learn, to improve yourself. But the fear in you...the weakness of cowardice, of hesitation...disgusts me. And I have no use for men who cannot rise above such weakness." Taking my mace from the dinner table, I swing down and bash his skull in. He crumples sideways at my feet, blood and brains spilling across the stone floor. I reach out my hand to the servant, who places my glass in my hand and retires. I take another sip; it really is an excellent wine. I look towards the command staff.
"Your tasks are to figure out why he lost. Learn where the enemy beat him. Learn where he went wrong. Learn what could've been done differently. Study the defense of this city. See if you can improve upon it. You have until I move on to come up with a plan. Whoever has the best plan will be promoted to Captain and assigned to the first division. The rest of you will stay as their staff. Now go."
I leave the dining hall as my servants begin to clean up, and move to the balcony. After dark, I can still see some parts of the city smouldering. In others, bonfires for celebrating soldiers mix with street lamps. Before the Governor's Palace, the lamps are lit and my guard patrols. My Queen wheels above me in the darkness of the stars. The air smells of smoke - the fine, familiar scent of ash and burning wood...
I blink, and nearly fall off my log beside the fire. For a few moments, I was home. I know it in my soul. The places, the people, what I did there - I know it was important but I cannot say how or why. I must try to remember. I look up into the darkness...
It is in the darkness that this realm is least familiar. I look to the night sky, and I do not see the familiar constellations of the Gods overhead. There is no great Balance spinning in its endless dance; with my Queen and her Court opposite the Adversary and his Court, with only the Book and his red kind between them. No. This broken realm, this Shattered Land - it is filled with fractured beings from innumerable realities. This is the bitter truth that those with wisdom must eventually face: We who come here are all in some way broken. Who we are, what we are, is partially lost. We see only broken pieces, like reflections in some shattered mirror. And like a chance reflection - we seldom know when we shall see a piece of it, we shall not see it fully, and it shall be lost when it passes.
That is horrifically awesome. Love it. I can't wait to play Mirror, Mirror with this character.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I don't normally write - ever - so I'm pleased with how this came out.
ReplyDeleteI liked this a lot. I could really picture everything as I read it and totally picture you in the role. :)
ReplyDelete